


Deal?

by burntmythroatskullingmytea (Tytoaster)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Vikings (TV)
Genre: 200 follower celebration, AU, Deal With the Devil, Gen, Violence, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 12:10:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13340973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tytoaster/pseuds/burntmythroatskullingmytea
Summary: Ivar the boneless, king of Dublin find's himself under siege, All hope seems lost until a strange visitor offers salvation... but at what price?





	Deal?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AnnieMar](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieMar/gifts).



> Okay, it took a while because of many reasons but here is the first of the 200 follower celebratory one-shots.  First up we have:
> 
> Part 1 of my 200 Followers Celebration, prompted by @anniemar: Ivar meets an Asgardian (MCU)  
> hope you like it.

 

* * *

“Ivar, we have hardly any provisions left, our people are starving and they have us boxed in, you said you had a plan, so what are you waiting for? Death to come carry off half of us in the night?” His queen raged.

“Oh, my auðr, why do you have such little faith in me?” He pouted. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

“I have not lost faith in you, I know you have a brilliant plan in that head of yours, I am just asking you to do something, we can last, but I am not sure how long our people can hold,” she explained.  He beckoned her closer. She huffed and folded her arms before approaching his throne. He smiled mischievously at her as he pulled her into his lap.

“It is all in hand, as we speak our men are burning the spoilt meat and scraps…” his kissed her tense neck “… They will believe we are burning our dead, that will draw them in…” He kissed her collarbone and let his hands wander up her waist, “… then we will spring our trap, we will hide in the Roman sewers…” suddenly his wife jerked.

“What!?”

“I know, they’ll never see it coming…”

“Is that your plan?!” She interrupted him frantically and jumped from his lap.

“Yes? What is it not a good plan? It worked in York,” He questioned.

“Oh no, it’s a brilliant plan husband…” She sneered and he frowned, what had he done wrong now? “Except for one small detail…”

“And what would that be?” He smirked.

“York is not Dublin, Eire was never invaded by the Romans, our ancestors fought them off,”  she said in a very strained voice.

“So what? You were formidable warriors once?” He jabbed. His wife winced and scoffed.

“We still are, but you’re missing the point; no Romans means no sewers,” she spelt it out for him. His face fell. “Was that your only plan?” His head fell into his hands. “What do we do now?” What now indeed. “Ivar?” How could he be so overconfident, how could he let this happen? “Husband?” He didn’t dare meet her eyes, he had failed her. “Shall I send word to my brothers?” What hope did they have? Her brother’s armies wound not get here in time. “Ivar, what are we going to do?”

“SHUT UP WOMAN!” She flinched. He sighed, “I am sorry, my auðr, I just can’t believe…”

“What a presumptuous idiot you’ve been?” She half smiled, trying to make a joke. He snorted. Her wit was one of the many things he loved about her, but now, however, was not the time for it. She sighed and stepped forward and cupped his cheek,  “Look, I may have married pompous, arrogant and presumptuous bastard, but I didn’t marry a fool, you’re Ivar the Boneless, scourge of the world, give it some time, and some help from the gods and you’ll think of something,” she encouraged and gently pressed her lips to his in a comforting kiss. “I shall pray and think, but I suppose you will want to organise a sacrifice?” He only nodded absently. “We shall prevail, it is not our time to leave this realm yet, I have foreseen us live far past this point,” she reassured before leaving him alone with his thoughts in the throne room. Or, so he thought.

“What a woman, huh?” A voice chuckled out of the darkest corner.  His axe immediately in hand and his stance alert.

“Show yourself!” He demanded.

“You don’t deserve her, really, she’s too good for you, especially considering what you have done to her,” a tall pale man with long dark haired stalked from the shadows, “She has so much trust and faith in you to not even ask what your plan was until the last possible minute, trusting that you would save her and your people, only for you to let her down,” he clicked his tongue and shook his head, “Just imagine the how she feels now, hopeless, dejected, foolish…” he suggested,”In fact, I even think perhaps she feels regret…”

“ENOUGH!” He bellowed and loosed his axe at the intruder. Ivars mouth fell open in shock when it passed clean through the man’s body, causing his form to shimmer with yellow and green light before dissipating. A dark chuckle came from the opposite corner now as the man sauntered forward clad in black and green leather. “Who are you?” Ivar demanded

“Is it not obvious?” The stranger grinned, “I am Loki.” He tensed, Loki the god of mischief?

“What do you want?” He cautiously asked before hauling himself up with his crutch.

“Oh no, Ivar Ragnarson, the question is; what can I, do for you?” Loki grinned and began to pace around the room like he owned the place. Ivar eyed him warily as he continued to speak, “You see, you have found yourself in a bit of a predicament, you are surrounded by your enemy, provisions running out, days away from help, don’t have enough boats, your wife is with child…” he trailed off, “Oops, oh my, you didn’t know about that one, did you?”

Ivar stood gobsmacked for a second, how long had his wife been pregnant? Did she not know? Or was she keeping it from him? Was that the reason why she had been concerned this evening? He shook his head, this was Loki, the god of mischief and lies, he was obviously toying with him.

“Get to the point,” he hissed at the Asgardian.

“A man of action,” Loki chuckled, “Right then, I will aid you with my illusions and you shall defeat king Cerball’s men and save Dublin, become more formidable, have an heir, live on in the memories of men, all for a small price.” Ivar scoffed. If Floki had taught him anything it was that everything the gods did came at a price.

“What price?”

“That can be decided after the battle…”

“No.” He interrupted, “I am no fool god of mischief, I am not naive enough to believe you have come here out of the goodness of your heart, I ask again; What do you want? A sacrifice?”

“Oh I like you Ivar Ragnarson,” Loki chuckled, “To be frank with you, I never really liked sacrifices, too… messy,” he admitted, “No, I want to borrow your wife…”

“OVER MY DEAD BODY!” Ivar roared and drew his sword.

“Oh no no, my friend, not like that… unless you’re offering? No? Well, it was worth a shot.” He awkwardly finished, “I meant I want to borrow your wife’s gift, two nights from now she will have a vision, one that I would very much like to see, all I will have to do is touch her forehead as she sleeps and then peak into her mind, painless and harmless she won’t feel a thing,” he explained. Ivar sheathed his sword.

“Why ask me when you could ask her? It is her mind after all,” he questioned.

“Well I didn’t just want to appear in your bedroom three nights from now and risk waking you as I looked into your wife’s mind, you’d try to kill me and at the very least interrupt the connection, also, she doesn’t believe in me, therefore by certain laws of magic I can’t appear to her,” He explained.

Ivar raised an eyebrow, “You’re not really here are you?”

“What? Actually risk you sticking an axe in me, of course I’m not really here,” Loki smirked then disappeared, only to reappear next to him. “Do we have a deal?”

“You will help us defeat Cerball’s army?” Ivar narrowed his eyes.

“Yes,” Loki nodded.

Ivar rolled his jaw in thought before nodding, “Fine, I’ll agree to your terms, but on one condition…”

“Yes?”

“That I lay by my wife’s side the whole time you are there,” Ivar stated. He didn’t have much choice. They were surrounded, and she was right, their people wouldn’t last. He had to do this, he had to protect his wife, and soon, family. He stuck out his hand for the trickster to shake. After a moment’s hesitation, the trickster chuckled and shook his hand.

“Done, tell your army to prepare for battle and form up at the bottom of Knoller Hill at noon, make a move when you see smoke, you’ll figure out the rest,” Loki instructed. Ivar didn’t like it. It was awfully vague.  “Oh and one more thing; tell your wife about our agreement and the deal is off,” he warned, “And believe me, you won’t win without me and I will see that vision, one way or another, I just thought I’d be polite,” he whispered before disappearing into thin air.

In a rare instance, Ivar felt extremely unsettled. He hobbled down the hall to his bed chambers and opened his door. As always, he found his dear auðr, sleeping soundly in his bed.  After undressing, he sank down in the furs next to her and slowly ran his fingers through her hair.  What exactly had he done? He made a deal that would save everyone, he ensured that his wife would be safe. He had done the right thing. So why did something feel wrong?

* * *

The next morning he awoke to find her side of the bed empty. He was not worried though, she was often awake before him. He frowned however when he found it cold. It was never cold. She never got up that much earlier than him, not anymore. He scanned the room.

“My Love?” Nothing. He rolled out of bed and threw on clothes and crawled down the corridor, not bothering to buckle up his braces. “Auðr, where are you?” He called out. There was no reply.  He stopped one of the guards asking him if he had seen the queen.

“No my lord, if I see her I shall inform her that you are looking for her,” the guard nodded before continuing on his patrol.

“My love!” He called again. Panic was rising within his chest. He continued to crawl towards the kitchen, perhaps she had gone to see her friend there. He passed the room she called the study and stopped noticing the flickering light from under the door. The fire should not be lit unless someone was in there. He gripped his axe and slammed the door open.

“ _Cac naofa!_  Ivar! You took three years off me life barging in like that!” His wife scolded him as she picked up various papers and game pieces she had dropped on the ground.

“You can’t talk, I’ve been scared witless trying to find you, why weren’t you answering me? I thought someone had carted you off,” he huffed.

“Sorry I didn’t hear you, I must have been off with the fae, I didn’t sleep well last night, so I’ve been here since the crack of dawn, thinking,” she explained, “What’s got you so paranoid?”

“I am not paranoid,” he gritted.

“And I am the Virgin Mary,” she laughed, then frowned at his lack of reaction. Usually, he would at least smile, but this morning, humour escaped him. “Ivar, what is wrong?”

“Nothing,” he reassured her and pulled himself into a chair. She inspected him with an intense gaze.

“Well if you a troubled about the siege, I may be able to help, early this morning I managed to scrape the bottom of the barrel, I have a few plans that with your mind and tact, might actually work…”

“What?” He exclaimed. Could it be possible that he didn’t have to make that deal after all?

“Don’t get too excited they are very rough, but I have faith that we can … what is it? What’s wrong?” She asked. ‘ _Just imagine the how she feels now, hopeless, dejected, foolish… In fact, I even think perhaps she feels regret…’_  He had let her down enough. He had to keep her safe, agreeing to Loki’s deal was the only way that would ensure victory. He snapped his thoughts back to his concerned wife.

“Nothing, this is brilliant, but I already have something figured out,” he explained.

“That’s wonderful,” she smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. She looked almost disappointed as she shuffled the parchment into a pile and abandoned it on a shelf.

“We can use them next time we are under siege,” he suggested.  She smiled and nodded.

“It will be better if we avoid another siege, but I’ll hold you to that,” she teased, “Now go, deal with our unwelcome guests and…”

“Yes?” He asked already expecting the same answer he got every time he left her.

“Come back in one piece, you know I hate stitching you back together and…” she hesitated. This was new, he thought to himself. She placed an arm on his shoulder and opened her mouth, “I… I’m um…ah,” she shook her head, “Just come back.” He knew now that Loki spoke the truth as his mind completed her abandoned sentence;  _‘I’m with child._ ’ He wondered why she was so hesitant to tell him, was she afraid she anger him? No. He knew she trusted him and he trusted her.  She must be hiding the fact to spare him the concern and pressure. He just nodded his head and drew her in for a kiss.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he murmured against her lips.

* * *

The sun was high in the sky, beating down on the army gathered at the base of the hill. The sound of men’s battle cries and thundering feet could be heard from the other side of the hill. His men whispered and speculated nervously. Early this morning his scouts had reported the enemy was pitched on top of the hill. Yet now as he sat in his chariot watching the sky waiting for the smoke signal, he saw no sign of the army on the hill’s crest. He smirked. It appeared Loki’s illusions were leading Cerball’s army further down the hill, allowing for the real army to outflank them and catch them by surprise. This would be an easy victory.

“My lord,” one of his captains, his wife’s guard to be precise, spoke up. He turned and nodded his head at the young man encouraging him to continue. “Forgive me, but do we have another army? On the other side of the hill I mean?”   

“We have help, from the gods,” he smiled, then frowned. He was his wife’s guard, so why was he here? Who was protecting the queen? “What are you doing here? Why are you not with the queen?”

“She dismissed me, she told me that you would need more men…”

“Get back to your post,” he snapped. The young man looked torn between the differing orders. “I will have your head if I come back from battle and she is not there to greet me, so I would suggest you take a handful of men and make sure the queen is protected!” The guard jumped and scurried off tapping a few men on their shoulders as he pushed through the army.  

“My lord, the signal!” Another one of his captains pointed at the black plume rising in the sky.

“March us into position at the top and send the horses around the side, do not charge until you hear the horn,” He ordered and flicked the reigns. Slowly the army made its way into position.  

* * *

He grinned when he saw Loki leading illusion army in a dismal retreat.  The enemy’s leader shouted with clear excitement.

“Kill all the bastards,” he screamed.

Ivar chuckled, “Toché.” He grinned manically when he saw the attacking men slowly begin to realise they were trapped and that he had the high ground.  

The leader turned white as a sheet, “Retreat! It’s a trap!”

“Retreat to where!?” He heard a commander scream back. He waved his hand and the horn sounded.

“CHARGE!” He hollered and lurched forward into the fray.

He hacked, screamed and laughed as he barreled and mowed down men. Around him the Irishmen on horseback closed around the enemy like a net, baring their spears and skewering those who wormed their way through. His fellow Vikings tore down the hill making short work of all who were in their way. He came to the middle of the battle and met Loki who, for a man who said didn’t like mess, was laying waste to any unfortunate soul around him with only knives.

“I trust my services are to your liking?” He grinned as he slashed at a bold man who tried the impale the god.

Ivar smirked, “Yes they have been most satisfying,” he answered and sunk his axe into another.  He frowned at a man charging behind the god of mischief and let one his throwing knife bury itself into the man’s chest. Simultaneously another knife flew past him and lodged itself in a warrior that would have taken his head off. The king and the god turned and nodded mutual thanks at each other before continuing to obliterate the enemy side by side. Within the next hour, the battle was over and nothing but dead and dying men remained of Cerball’s army. Ivar let a puff and slumped on the front of his chariot and laughed. They had won. Loki joined in with the laughter and hunched over resting his hands on his knees.

“That’s my part of the bargain done, enjoy your victory Ivar the Boneless, I will see you tomorrow night and you will uphold your part,” he grinned then disappeared with a flash of light. Ivar’s mood felt as he was filled with a sense of dread.

* * *

After much celebration and feasting, the people of Dublin’s spirits were high. He, however, lay awake as sleep eluded him. Tonight was the night the trickster planned to return. Beside him his queen lay asleep and at peace, unaware of what was about to transpire. He hated when she had visions. They occurred randomly, locking her in an unbreakable trance that she would have to endure. They were not a peaceful occurrence at all. Often she would cry out and scream and thrash, it not only pained him to watch her go through this ordeal but it taxed his sleep and energy to. He had to keep watch to make sure in her thrashing she did not hurt herself.  If this vision was of importance to the god, there was no telling how intense this one would be.

He also contemplated the reason a god would want to see a vision. It must be of significant importance, which concerned him.

“Good evening,” a familiar voice greeted from across the room. This was it.

“What are you going to see?” Ivar asked. The trickster smirked and quietly paced up to his wife’s bedside.

“The future and my fate, and that is all you need to know,” he brought his hand up in a circular motion and it began to faintly glow.

“I need to know that I haven’t betrayed the Alfather,” he said.

Loki laughed, “You can ask your wife what I saw when she wakes.” Ivar growled in frustration and opened his mouth to speak but was silenced by a whimper from his wife. Immediately, Ivar wrapped his arms around her pinning her arms to her sides, holding her firmly as her breathing quickened. Loki grinned placed his glowing hand on the woman’s forehead he shut his eyes. There was a flash of light and Ivar felt the energy pulse through the room, but it left as quickly as it came. Everything went silent. It was as if the god was asleep while standing. Seconds ticked by and Ivar felt more and more uneasy. What exactly had he agreed to?

A sudden gasp from Loki as the god stepped back breaking the connection. He stood there for a few moment catching his breath before chuckling to himself.

“What?” Ivar demanded.

“It’s been a pleasure doing business Ivar the Boneless,” he said with a laugh, “But don’t get me wrong when I say I hope we never cross paths again, say goodbye to your wife and son for me…oh oops! Sorry, spoiler!” Loki chuckled and disappeared with a yellow flash. Ivar let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. he fixed his attention on his wife as she groaned next to him. She then let out a hoarse scream and shot awake.

“My love, are you okay? What did you see?” He questioned immediately as she flung her arms around him and heaved heavy breaths.

“The end,” she sobbed hysterically.

“The end of the world?” This throat went dry as he asked.

“Not our world, the end of another,” she heaved and curled into him. He sat in silence. He knew what Loki wanted to see now, and he had let the god of mischief see the end of Asgard. He had let Loki witness Ragnarok.

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> in this story Ivar's wife is not given a name, however, her nickname auðr means treasure.


End file.
